Fountain pen



C. E. KLAUS FOUNTIN PEN Feb. 16, 1932.

Filed May 29, 1950 ATTORNEY WITNEssEs W" Patented Feb. 16, 1932 UNITEDSTATES CHARLES E. KLAUSQOF PORTLAND, OREGON FOUNTAIN PEN Applicationiled vMay 29, 1939-. 'i Serial 111'0. l457,031.

This invention relates to improvements in fountain pens, anditiconsistsiof the constructions, combinations and arrangementshereindescribed and claimed. Y

YAn obj ect of theinvention is to provide an auxiliary ink reservoir forfountain pens,the contents of which may readily be discharged into' amain reservoir whenthelatter runs dry, the necessity for Vdrawingupon.the. auxiliary reservoir serving as an indication that the fountain penrequires refilling.` i i I Another. object of the invention isto improvethe so-calledself-illing fountain pen to the extent of providing mainauxiliary reservoirs, and a novel arrangement of presser strips operableby aV common levereither for the simultaneousilling ofboth reservoirs orthe emptying of the contentsofwthe auxiliary reservoir into the mainreservoir,l

A further object of the inventionis-to improvethe dualv reservoir or inksacfthus involving aprocessaccording to the steps of which the resultantsac islnot only divided into `main land auxiliary reservoirs butinproducing the point of constrictinan rob- `jectionable lateralenlargement ordistortion which would prevent the easyinsertionofthe sacin the pen barrel is avoided. f

Other objects and advantagesappear in the following specification,referencebeing had to the accompanying drawingsinwhich Figure l is aperspective viewof a fountain pen, particularly illustratingtheVactuating lever. Figure 2 is vertical section of a portion of the penbarrel showing the compressor mechanism in the position thatv it assumeswhen both reservoirsof the inksac'are distended and presumably full. i

Figure 3 is a similar view illustrating-one action of the lever by whichboth reservoirs are compressed simultaneously preparatory to beingfilled. ,y

Figure 4 is a view similar toFigureB illustrating the reversal of theactuatinglever whereby only the auxiliary reservoirfis coinpressedthereby to discharge the cont-ents into the main reservoir.

Figure-5 is a cross section taken onthe line 5--5 of Figure 2. l

Figure is a perspective view ofthe lever fsuprertnssrrng, the function0f ,which .is to positively hold the lever iniits reist posiytierras inFigure 2.- Y i i .Figure 7 isa perspective viewofthemain presser strip.

Figure 8 s a perspective view of the aux- Yiliary 'presser strip.

- Figure?) is a perspectiveview of the actuat ing lever.

. t5w() Figure l0 is aplan view of aportionof the ,inksacgillustratingthe preliminary step of constriction. i i f i Y v FigureVll is afplan view of aportion of the ink sac illustratingthe,formationOfanink Vduct1by .thestep'of `vulcanization. Figure 12 is a crosssectiontakenon .the yline .l2-l2 off-Figure v1&1. l

-Thisinvention is concernedwith relieving the `armoyance attendantV uponhaving Lafonn- ,7p tain pen Vsuddenly run dry yat a (,ritlcal moment'.ltr-is a matterof frequent occur- Irencetofhave the supply of inksuddenly, give out while in the midst of vasignaturaorhsome eherandre-wars important Writingi i To say thelleastythisis aninconvenience. The writer ,is thereby required i to ,reach fortheinkbottleand refill his pe`n. This not enly'means the llossof sometimeabut Vit is easily conceivable person concerned might beembarrassed.

i The 3 remedy herein proposed y is to provide thebarrel 1 of a fountainpenwith 'a dual reservoir 'orinlrsac 2 of rubber or otherappropriate-liexible material whichis divided Q5 into mainandauxiliary,reservoirs 3` and 4 by means of a` constriction 15, the 'making ofwhichis the subject of .an ingeniousprocess. `This inlrsac is adapted tobe acted upon by a compressor mechanism generally denoted,

and'it is in tli's that a large part of the novelty l resides, 1 f @y[slot or otherr'openinglocated somewhere near .the .closed end V8`of-f-thebarrel l has'iixedly vcombined therewith .f (Fig. 5) `.and A945located'mediall-y thereof Ava pin 9. actua@ ing lever 1Q lis pivotallyandslidablykmount.- -ed on the pin for which purposerthe-lever has aslot kl1v for the. reception of the. pin.V v

The ilever.. 1i0 is in" the nature of :ai solid har 415m that insoinerinstanceslthe 8 0 or inner edge'of th (Fig. 5) but might be struckup from sheet metal bent to the proper proportions. Its ends 12, 13 arereduced by shaping away the material on the nether or inner edge untilthe extremities are approximately as thick as the pen barrel (Fig. 2).These shaped places provide recesses in which the protrusions 14, 15 ofla lever .supporting spring 16 bear to maintain the lever in its properresting position (Fig. 2) when the dual reservoir 2 is fully distended.'i

It is not necessary for the protrusions' 14, 15 to lit the recessesadjacent to the ends 12, 13 exactly. They need only to bear against theends of the lever 10 thus keeping the latter level in its slot 7. Eitherend of the lever may be depressed in the slot 7 Vby the thumb nail,depending on whether vit is desired to compressrboth reservoirs 3,4'prior to lling (Fig. 3), or only the auxiliary reservoir 4 (Fig. 4) inorder to discharge the contents into the main reservoir 3. The lever 10thus becomes the selecting means by which either all or only one of thereservoirs is compressed. These actions involve the use of a lug 17 onthe yexposed edge of the lever 10, which is adapted to be engaged by thethumb nail to slide the4 lever 10 in one or the other directionpreparatory to exercising the required pressure on the inlr sac.

It is observed vthat the protrusions 14, 15 are bent into format theends of a slot 18 in the spring 16. The spring is slit and parts of themetal are bent up into the shape of protrusions. The ends 12, 13 of thelever l0 work in the slot either for the simultaneous compression of thetwo reservoirs 3, 4 (Fig. 3) or the compression of only the reservoir 4(Fig. 4). Y

That end of the spring 16 adjacent to the slot 18 has an arm 19 whichcarri-es a circular yoke 20 (Fig. 6) which lits the pen barrel thus toestablish an adequate support not only Vfor the spring 16 but the entireinner component of the compressor mechanism 6. This inner' componentconsists of the spring 16, already mentioned,faJ main presser strip 21and an auxiliary presser strip 22. The purpose of the strip 21 is tocompress the main reservoir 3, while the purpose of the strip 22 istocompress the auxiliary reservoir 4.

The main presser strip 21 is riveted or otherwise secured at one end tothe spring 16 as at 23. The other end has a bifurcation 24 (Fig. 7 )l tothe insides of which ears 25 (Fig. V8) of the auxiliary presser strip 22are pivoted, the approximate extent of pivotalmotion of one strip to theother is shown in Figure 4. A transverse groove 26 stamped in or struckacross the main presser strip 21 prior to .furcating the adjacent endpermits of easier manufacture of the presser strip, especially as it maybe desired to have the upper e strip made slightly higher than the Vflatportion yin the immediate re ion of a slot 27 in the presser strip. Theends 12, 13 of the lever 10 pass into this slot during the Working ofthe lever 10 as seen in Figures 3 and 4.

One end of the auxiliary presser strip 22 is bent up at 29 to provide arest which bears against the under side of the lever supporting spring16 (Fig. 2) and tends to relieve the auxiliary reservoir 4 of the weightand pressure. This rest is part of a reduced end V30 of the auxiliarystrip 22 (Fig. 8) which is adapted to swing between the furcations 24 toa slight extent (Fig. 4). The opposite end of the strip22 is forked at31 (Fig. 8), and at the inner end of the forl there is a stop 32 withthe opposite sides of which the lever ends 12, 13 are adapted to engage(Figs. 3 and 4) to limit the swinging or raising movement of the lever10.

A depression 28 stamped from the material of the strip 21 at one endofthe slot 27 extends into the'forl; 31 under the circumstances inFigures 2 and 3. The end of this depression clears the adjacent stop32of the strip 22; The purpose of this depression is to enable theuse 0f ashorter lever stop 32 thanv wouldotherwise be possible. Another effectof this depression is a greater capacity of reservoirs 3, 4.

This is easily understood. The lever 10 i must clear the stop 32 whilein its resting position (Fig. 2), but when the lever 10 is swung in oneor the other direction (Figs. 3 and 4) its ends 12, 13 must engage oneor the other side of the stop. If the strip 21 were left perfectlystraight up to the point of the stop 32 it follows that the latter wouldhave to be longer in order to be in a position where the ends 12, 13 canengage it. By depressing the `strip at 28 the stop 32 is in effectreduced to a lower location, enabling the spring 16 to move the mainpresser strip 21 farther out toward the lever 10 (Fig. 2) and thusmaking possible a greater capacity of the ink reservoirs 3, 4.

Thus far the operation of the compressor mechanism isreadily understood.Consider the position in Figure 2 and assume that it is desired torefill the ink sac 2. The thumb nail of the right hand is placed edge-onagainst the lever 10 at a point near the end 12 and pressedin. Thisraises the end 13 above the surface of the barrel 1. The-thumb nail isthen slid along the lever 10 until it comes in contact `with the lug 17,whereupon a continued push will slide the lever over the pin Qbyvirtueof the slot 11 until the pin occupies the front end of the slot.'

t is now an easy matter to raise the end 12 with the fore finger oftheright hand, using the pin 9 asa pivot, until the position in Figure 3is assumed. Y The lever end 12 rides against the Vmain presser strip 21,and Vsince the auxiliary strip 22 cannot move by virtue of bearingagainst the bridge portion 33 between the bifurcation 24 and slot 27,the result is a simultaneous depression of both reservoirs 3, 4 (Fig.3). The pen point 34 (Fig. 1) is now dipped into the ink, and upon amotion of the lever` to its original position, by which a release of thedual reservoir 2 is effected, ink will be drawn in.

Upon desiring to transfer the contents ofl the auxiliary reservoir 4into the main reservoir 3 the foregoing operation of the lever 10 isreversed. The end 13 is now first pressed in so that the lever can beslid until the pin 9 occupies the other end of the slot 11, whereuponthe lever is turned (Fig. 4) so that the end 13 rides against theauxiliary presser strip 22 and turns that independently of the mainstrip 21. Pressure is applied to the reservoir 4 only with the resultthat the ink is emptied into the main reservoir 3.

The construction of the ink sac is an important factor of the invention.It has been found that the making of the constriction 5 by molding isvirtually impossible, or at best so difficult as to make the costprohibitive. The alternate choice is to take a tubular ink sac andvulcanize it together at a designated spot so as to produce theconstriction. This has the disadvantage of spreading or flaring thesides of the sac so that insertion into the barrel 1 becomes diilic'ult.

The remedy consists of initially moldingl the sac 2 with a slightconstriction 35 (Fig. 10). This is easily accomplished; The constriction35 is then pressed down and acted upon by an appropriate vulcanizinginstrun ment so that a vulcanized spot 36 (Fig. 11) is produced. rI`heattendant spreading of the constriction 35 is kept within the bounds ofthe cylindrical sac 2A (Fig. 11) so that there will be no difficultywhatever in inserting the sac in the barrel 1.

The vulcanizing is done in such a manner that one or more ducts 37(Figs. 5 and 12) are produced. It is through these that the ink ink iowsfrom tnc reservoir to the other. rIhe vulcanized spot 36 (Fig. 11) is tobe identified as the constriction 5 (Fig. 2), and according to theposition of the compressor mechanism 6 it will be seen that the lattercan be worked without in any way interfering with the constriction 5 or,more especially, with the ducts 37.

It is obvious that a numberof possible variations of the fundamentalidea may be carried out in practice. For instance, instead of producingthe ink duct or ducts 37 by vulcanization it is possible to use a metalclip to hold the two walls of the sac together, forming either one ortwo ducts as desired. Or, instead of vulcanizing the walls together,Jhey might be cemented tovequally good efect.

The important thing is to form the ink channels or ducts 37 by holdingthe opposite walls of the sac together in such a way as to form one ormore connectingchannels between the mam and auxiliary reservoirs.

Each duct must be of suiiciently small cross sectionsothatthe surfacetension of the. ink will'be great enough` to prevent its flowing out ofthe auxiliary reservoir until forced out byLthe presser strip; y f

While theconstruction and arrangement of the ,improved fountain pen isthat of a generally preferred form, obviously modifi cations and changesmay be made without departing from thespirit of the invention or thescope ofthe claims. Y Y

I claim Y 1. A fountain pen having abarrel with an opening,l resilientmeans having means providing its support inithevbarrel, a pair ofconnected pressers of which one is joined with the free end of theresilient means, an ink sa'c consistingofafpair of connected reservoirssituated between the pressers and a wall of the barrel, and meansmounted to turn in the opening to engage either one or the vother of thepressers" respectively to compress both reservoirs or only onereservoir.

2. A'fountain pen having a'barrel with an opening, resilient meansmounted in the barrel, a pair of connected pressers of which one isjoined with the free end of the resilient.

means,va pair of connected reservoirs which th-e respective pressers areadapted to act upon, and means operating in' the opening with slidingandl turning motions to'reach and! actuatel either one'or the otherofthe pressers. Y f

3.- A fountainpen having a barrel, a plurality 4of'connected reservoirs,an equal plurality of connected 'pressers' for the respective izoreservoirs, and a single lever movable into a plurality of positionsVvfor producing a cumulative action of thepressers against the reservoirsor only a single action of one of the pressers against the i respectivereservoir.

4. A fountain pen having a barrel with an n opening, a pin associatedwith the opening, a plurality of ink reservoirs in the barrel, connectedpressers movably supported in the barreladjacentto the reservoirs, and alever occupying the opening having a slot receiving the pin to enablediverse movements and turning motions whereby to engage the opposite-ends of the leverfwith one or the other of the pressers for eithera cumulative or single compressing action. s

5. Compressor mechanism for fountain pens comprising a reservoirpresser, an 'actu-V p ating lever movably mountable in the opening of apresser, said lever having an end reduced to provide a recess, andresilient means for yieldably supporting the presser, said means havinga protru'sion for engaging in said recess against said end to maintainthe lever in a normally nested positionin theopening.

6. Compressor mechanism for fountain pen barrel for operating upon the vpens comprising a main reservoir presser, an auxiliary reservoir presserconnected theref -With and having a stop, means by Which the mainpresser is movably mounted in a pen barrel having an opening, and alever swingable in either of tvvo directions through said opening toactuate one orl the other of the pressers for a compressing action, theswing-v ing of said lever being limited by engagement with oppositesides of said stop. f Y

ompressor mechanism for fountain pens comprising a pair of connectedpressers, resilient means with Which one ofthe pressers is connected,being mountable in a pen barrel, and a rest on one of the pressers toengage a portion of the resilient means when the latter is in a relaxedposition.

8. A compressor mechanism for fountain pens comprising a slotted'levermountable upon a pin adjoining an opening in a pen barrel, a pair ofconnected pressers :against either of which the respective ends of thelever are movable, a lug on the lever to receive sliding pressurepreparatory to a turn# ing motion on the lever for the operation ofeither presser, and resilient means With Which one of the pressers isconnected for the support of both pressers said means having protrusionsnormallybearing against the opposite ends of the lever to maintain itsposition.

9. A dual reservoir comprising a tubular sac having a portion of theWalls secured together to define a reduced fluid duct.

- 10. The herein described process consisting of slightly constricting aportion of a tubular sac, `oressing the constriction together, andvulcanizing the Walls of the constriction together at theJ pressurepoint thus to produce a reduced duct. Y

CHARLES E. KLAUS.

